Good morning,
You will remember that just last April, we launched the first call for companies to jointly buy gas via the EU Energy Platform, a mechanism established in record time.
Two and a half weeks ago on 26 June, we launched the second round of joint purchasing of gas under the EU Energy Platform.
Today, I am pleased to announce the positive results of this second call.
We have gathered demand for almost 16 billion cubic meters. This is over 4 bcm more compared to the first round. Together, the first two rounds alone doubled the objective set by the Council for the whole year.
Reliable international suppliers have responded to our aggregated demand of gas with bids to supply a total volume of 15.19 billion cubic metres. I want to thank all 25 suppliers who have submitted their offers.
Thanks to these offers we have matched the most attractive offers with customer demands and an overall volume of 11.98 billion cubic metres have been matched. And the volumes matched in the second round were also higher by 1 bcm than in the first round.
Out of this volume, LNG accounts for 5.5 billion cubic metres and the remaining 6.4 billion cubic metres covers pipeline gas.
I have to underline that these results exceed our expectations.
We had made some improvements to further facilitate the participation of industry and increase the effectiveness of joint purchasing.
In particular, prospective buyers were able to submit their demand for gas to be delivered between August 2023 and March 2025, meaning 20 months. This was meant to cover the entire gas year and accommodate the purchasing patterns of some energy-intensive industries which buy gas over longer periods of time.
The positive results of this second call shows that there is a need and a clear added-value in joining forces, pooling our demand and working together to guarantee stable and affordable gas supplies to the EU market.
We will hold the third round of the joint purchase after the summer break. We will again consider making further improvements to the system based on the received feedback.
It is now important to ensure that a model that works can be a model that stays.
Beyond the next round for joing purchasing of gas, I believe that we should make sure that the EU Energy Platform and the joint purchase mechanism is kept, so that this new marketplace becomes a regular rendez-vous point for European industry and suppliers.
I also believe that we should now work towards expanding this model to other commodities, including renewable gases, hydrogen and strategic raw materials.
Thank you.